


Hope is the Goal

by PaperHatsandPaperBoats



Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: F/F, Plus that B&V cheer momement, Rewrite of Hope is not the Goal with Josie in Landon's place, Teeny Cheryl Blossom nod because the cat ears felt too Riverdale to ignore
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-23
Updated: 2020-07-01
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:21:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24872224
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PaperHatsandPaperBoats/pseuds/PaperHatsandPaperBoats
Summary: When Dana goes missing, the Salvatore School infiltrates Mystic Falls High to clear their names. If Josie and Hope end up trying out for the cheerleading squad then its all in the name of science and investigation.
Relationships: Hope Mikaelson & Josie Saltzman, Hope Mikaelson/Josie Saltzman
Comments: 18
Kudos: 97





	1. Chapter 1

“Hey! Watch it Josie. I was trying to make an entrance.” Lizzie whips around and practically stomps her foot in exasperation.

“You were walking in slow motion Lizzie, we all needed to get off the bus or it would have looked weird,” Josie shrugged and moved past Lizzie, catching the smug look on Connor’s face as he nudged his friend, surely making a joke at their expense.

Lizzie had volunteered as tribute but that didn’t mean Josie automatically had to go along with it. There were enough volunteers at the end of the assembly but somewhere between the raising of hands and loading the buses Landon had dropped out and her dad made her take his place. Most likely to keep an eye on Lizzie and her hero complex. So Josie gave up her day of quiet, casual school life to venture off into normal high school life. Something she knew she would suck at and regret immediately. And she did. The embarrassment of seeing Connor make fun of them when no one else seemed to notice was enough to sour the entire day.

“Okay so here’s the deal, I’m in charge here so we’re going to split up. Josie, you basically handed the game to the timberwolves a few weeks ago so you find them and see what they know.”

“Hey! First of all, Dad said to stick together and second, I did not hand them the game. We were supposed to lose!” Josie huffed and crossed her arms while Hope silently reached out and placed her hand on Josie’s arm, calming her down. Lizzie looked at the gesture in confusion, missing the matching look on Josie’s face.

“Whatever, you’re still going to find them and talk to them. Hope, you try to not deliberately alienate the entire student body while the rest of us,” Lizzie gestures to MG and Kaleb,” save the world.”

“I’m capable of talking to high school students if you’re my judge of character.” Hope smirks at Lizzie and takes a subtle step closer to Josie. “Besides, this isn't a contest, Lizzie”

“You're right. It's a mission for a hero and her league of… whatevers. MG, Kaleb, you’re with me. We’ll scout out the girls on Dana’s volleyball team, see if they know anything.”

“Screw that. I work alone,” Kaleb calls over his shoulder walking away as MG attempts to stop him. Lizzie stops MG with a hand on his bicep, telling him she needs him and his compulsion skills. They walk off towards the school, leaving Josie and Hope behind.

“What’s the play?” Hope asks, looking to the front doors of the school. Josie fiddles with her fingers and bites her lip. She had no idea what they should be doing.

“Um, maybe we do what Lizzie says for a bit then tweak it when it fails?” Josie shrugs, looking at Hope for confirmation of her plan. Hope silently nods and they walk towards the school, close enough that their hands slightly brush every other step. Neither girl moving to the side to change the dynamic.

Josie tried to play it off as breaking the tension from last week when they defeated the gargoyle together. Josie had ignored Hope in the doorway after they defeated the monster. She knew she was being petty then. She knows Hope rarely offers a smile to anyone and when it was directed at her, she panicked. She couldn’t take on the potential rejection that was sure to come a week or two or a month later when Hope shuts her out again. So she turned away and had ignored her for a full week instead of the other way around. Maybe this closeness was Hope playing the usual cat and mouse game they had played since they were little. One pokes, the other bites back, silence, a need to perform a spell brings them back together, two weeks of hesitant friendship then another poke. It’s exhausting but they’ve done it their whole life. It’s all they know.

Josie and Hope make their way through the school doors, walking mindlessly and casually through the halls.

“Hey. Are you two new?” A boy materializes in front of them, breaking their mindless reverie. He was tall, handsome in a cookie cutter way, his eyes a bright hazel, his teeth perfect and straight. 

“Yeah, we are. Do you want to show us around?” Josie asks, her voice an octave higher as she loops her arm through Hope’s, giving the boy a small, shy smile. Hope knew Josie was flirting but she wasn’t sure why. Did the mission actually call for flirting?

“I’m Eric by the way,” He held his hand out to Josie in greeting, flashing a giant smile.

“Josie, this is my best friend Hope,” Josie’s smile crinkles her eyes. Hope can tell it’s a genuine one. 

“I'm sorry. You both look traumatized. Is this loser bothering you?” A girl in a cheerleading outfit pops up on Hope’s other side, slightly startling the girl. Hope’s mouth slightly hangs open at the intrusion before she replies, failing to see Josie’s expression, practically begging her to reject the cheerleaders.

“He keeps trying to get us to buy his mixtape,” Hope responds, flipping her hair over her shoulder, dropping Josie’s arm. Josie looks at Hope, her brow furrowing in either confusion or disappointment, Hope can’t read her.

“We’re going to get a coffee, you need caffeine?” the cheerleader asks, her question almost exclusively directed at Hope.

“We’re energy-deprived, lead the way.” Hope grabs Josie’s hand harshly and pulls her after the cheerleaders.

“What was that? We were making connections with him,” Josie whispers as they follow the cheerleaders towards a coffee cart.

“Dana was popular, cheerleaders are popular. I made the better connection.” Hope leans into Josie’s space, her lips accidentally ghosting over Josie’s ear as she responds. Josie involuntarily shivering at the touch of Hope’s lips.

“What happened to this not being a competition?”

“What happened to this being about finding out what happened to Dana?” Hope quirks her eyebrow at Josie.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Your blush is giving you away Josie. Eric Carpenter. You can find him later if you still want to. He’s cute,” Hope says with an air of indifference. Forcing her chin a little higher as they continued following the cheerleaders.

“How did you get his last name?”

“His mom wrote it on the underside of her backpack handle.” Hope lets out a small snort, hoping Josie will realize that boy was a nerd and not worth her time. She doesn’t. She seems to have committed his name to memory, even looking in her pockets for a pen, presumably to write it down on her hand.

“Vanilla latte with oat milk?” Hope asks over her shoulder as they step up to order.

“Yeah, how do you know that?”

“I’ve known you nearly my whole life. I know your coffee order.” Josie is taken aback by this statement. If someone were to bet her a million dollars to pick Hope’s coffee order, she would not for a second feel confident in any order she gave a barista. When Hope orders a triple americano, Josie commits it to memory.

The girls follow the cheerleaders to the quad at the center of the school. They casually talk about classes, the football game coming up, who’s who and who to avoid. That’s when Dana finally comes up in the conversation.

“So Dana Lilien, I heard she’s missing, is she an in-crowd member or an avoid at all cost leper?” Hope asks, playing into the high school dynamic of teenagers. Sure she is one, but she has never connected with her peers. She steals a glance at Josie, noting her slight look of approval. Hope’s chest slightly puffs out in confidence at the look. Her hand playing with the bottom of her coffee cup.

“Dana is a bitch but the top bitch. Honestly, she pulls this shit all the time. She has like seven college boyfriends and doesn’t show up to school if three of them have free class days at the same time. If it weren’t for Sasha, no one would even notice she was gone.” Becca, the cheerleader that invited them to coffee, scoffs, and twirls her ponytail. Hope and Josie share a look before Josie enters the conversion.

“So you don’t think she’s actually missing, just out with boys?”

“Absolutely, Sasha probably finally had sex with Connor and is holed up at a church somewhere crying and committing herself to thousands of our father’s. You’ll see. Tomorrow, the two of them will be back and this will all be over.”

Josie and Hope excuse themselves with the excuse of registering at the front office before classes start. 

“So that was.. Enlightening.” Hope drawls as they stroll through the halls with half-full coffee cups.

“Preach,” Josie says, taking a sip of her coffee.

“Gross, don’t pick up their slang. Becca said that word was on a comeback from fifteen years ago. Don’t perpetuate, make something new,” Hope smiles at Josie and bumps her shoulder, slightly spilling her own drink on her fingers.

“Don’t blame me for that spill, that was all you. What does an americano taste like anyway?” Josie asks, watching Hope wipe her fingers on her pants.

“Um a regular one tastes like black coffee but a bit stronger, mine is way stronger. You want to try?” Hope offers up her cup and Josie nods, taking the drink from Hope and taking a sip. The bitter taste hits her tongue aggressively, causing her nose to scrunch up and her lips to pucker. Hope lets out a laugh, taking the cup back from Josie.

“That may have been the cutest face I’ve ever seen, Jo. I tried to warn you but it was worth it to see that face,” Hope continued to chuckle to herself as they walked on. The blush on Josie’s face a mixture of embarrassment and bashfulness. 

“Stop,” Josie sends a light punch to Hope’s shoulder, causing her to spill her coffee again.

“I’m not even sorry. I wish I had the school phone to take a photo. I want that face in my mind forever,” Hope grips Josie’s wrist, another wave of laughter hitting her.

“Hey! You’re back,” Eric appears in front of them, that same grin on his face, he only has eyes for Josie. Josie, her wrist still held by Hope, looks up and grins back.

“Yes and significantly more caffeinated. What’s your first period?” Josie asks, casually using her other hand to remove Hope’s hand from her wrist.

“AP World History, what about you?” Josie doesn’t even hesitate before saying their first class was the same. 

“Walk us there?” Josie’s eyes crinkle yet again in a real smile as Hope forces herself to smile at Eric as well. Josie reaches down and grabs Hope’s hand this time, dragging her along with Eric. The warning bell goes off as they make their way to Eric’s class.


	2. Chapter 2

Josie and Hope sat at a back table in AP History, there weren’t enough desks for them so the table in the back was the only option. Rather than pay attention to the teacher, Hope and Josie chose to communicate as if they were taking notes.

_So Eric_

Josie looks at Hope with her brows furrowed as Hope finishes writing on the right side of Josie’s notebook.

 _What about him_

_You’re crush is obvious Jo_

_Again, so what_

_Is that your type?_

_What do you care about my type_

Sure that was harsh but Josie has never fielded a question so personal from Hope. This was uncharted territory. She might as well play cold and indifferent. Open and honest was not an option.

 _Just trying to get to know you I guess???_

_You know my coffee order, you know me_

_No, I know you enamored with Penelope, I do not know you crushing on someone_

_I don’t think I have a type then_

_Interesting_

_Stop being cryptic Say what you want to say_

_You can do better_

Josie shoots a look of confusion at Hope, one of the many that has been coating her face the last hour or so. She chooses to focus on the teacher, showing a map of a battle path through Virginia.

 _What I mean is, he’s cute but you are stunning. His mom writes his name on his backpack... in high school. You’ve been navigating human psychology since you were ten_

Josie reads the inscription and nearly chokes. Hope thinks she’s stunning? Hope has known she’s been navigating Lizzie’s bipolar disorder arguably better than her parents? Hope notices her at all.

 _He seems easy_

That’s all Josie can think to respond with. She thought Eric was cute, sure. He showed interest right away and she didn’t have to prove herself to him. She wasn’t a twin, she wasn’t the daughter of a headmaster. She wasn’t a witch to him.

 _Josette Saltzman_

Hope shoots daggers at Josie, as if the very simple phrase of something being easy scars her skin.

 _How dare you settle for something easy_

Hope puts the end of her pen in her mouth, debating writing the next thing she wants to write. She should have said this a long time ago to so many different people. To perpetuate the bold feelings her mother instilled in her. She almost drops her pen, flings it across the room, burns every writing utensil in the room but the lump in her throat doesn’t let up so she writes it, molding it around Josie’s experience.

 _Use your voice. Have adventures. And have at least one totally epic love. And be every bit of yourself._

Josie read the words written on the page over and over. She can’t pull her eyes away. She wants these words etched on her skin, in Hope’s handwriting. She wants these words to echo in her mind at all hours of the day, pulling her from her reveries and her dark moments. She has no idea what to reply with so she doesn’t. She drops her pen, closing her notebook, ending the written conversation. She looks to the front of the room, focuses her eyes on the knotted tie of the teacher. 

She doesn’t hear his words. She doesn’t know the outcome of whatever battle they're discussing. She doesn’t notice Eric turning around and checking in on her. She doesn’t notice the look on Hope’s face. Hope’s singular expression is asking for validation, acknowledgment. She’s asking for Josie to be real and open and honest with herself. Josie doesn’t see Hope’s face fall as heavily as the cover of the notebook falling, effectively ending whatever it was that Hope was trying to create.

The bell rings and the two girls leave the class in silence, one dazed, one feeling rejected.

“So, how was the first class? You looked a little lost. I took great notes so maybe we can meet up at the grill later today and go over what Mr. Grant was talking about.” Eric’s smile was so earnest and endearing but Josie barely heard what he was saying. She tried to shake her head of her daze while looking up at him, she even opened her mouth to agree to meet up but no words came out.

“We studied Kernstown in our last school, we were actually pretty bored. We’re off to the guidance counselor now so we’ll catch you later!” Hope grabbed Josie’s arm and led her into an empty classroom a few corridors away.

“Hey, hey, what’s going on with you? Where did you go?” Hope was cupping Josie’s cheeks, directing her eyes to meet her own. In the quiet of the classroom, Josie’s mind was reeling but she couldn’t place the cloudy feeling, she didn’t respond to Hope. The smaller girl, taking drastic measures, opted to slap Josie across the face.

“What the hell?” Josie’s hand shot to her face, finally coming out of her daze, “What was that for?”

“You... You weren’t here. I got scared. Where did you go?” Hope’s hands had settled around Josie’s throat, loosely hanging against her shoulders.

“I.. I’m sorry,” Josie could barely come up with words, “I just got caught up in that battle. Yeah, the battle and death. Humans, am I right?” Josie trails off, her eyes not focusing again.

“Hey, stop. Stop lying. What’s going on?” the look on Hope’s face nearly causes Josie to confess her feelings about the written statement from Hope. But she can’t. She can’t open up to Hope just to be crushed in a week.

“Sorry, I’m okay. I’m here. Promise,” Josie grabs Hope’s hands from her neck and brings them down in front of her. “I was just lost in thought. I’m good.” Josie takes a deep breath and releases it slowly, “What’s the play now?” Josie offers a small smile, making sure it hits her eyes. Hope knows something is off but she also knows if she calls Josie out, the rest of the day will be frosty and silent. So Hope sighs and rubs her hand against the back of her neck and thinks.

“Let’s find Becca and see what her next class is?”

“Sounds good.”

As if summoned by Hope, Becca appears beside them, asking about their class schedule. They follow her to geometry and once again take a table in the back of the room. Josie doesn’t even bother opening her notebook, she doesn’t want to invite another written thread of internal turmoil. 

Josie’s hands feel like fire against the desk. There is a sudden gash of intense heat and she has no idea if it’s mental or physical pain when Hope starts hitting her sleeves with her own hands.

Josie looks down and sees smoke and looks at Hope’s wild, scared eyes. She realizes way too late that the sleeve of her shirt caught fire. In the middle of a math class. 

“Jo, I’m so sorry, I thought you knew what I was doing. Are you okay?” Hope hiss whispers into Josie’s ear, once again brushing her lips lightly against her. Josie physically shivers, goosebumps erupting on her skin. Hope reads it as pain.

“Stop doing that!” Josie whispers back at Hope. 

“Doing what? Putting the fire out? Trying to get you to focus?”

“No, whispering into my ear,” Josie’s eyes burn daggers into Hope’s confused look, causing her to look down into her lap. Josie lifts her hands from the table, assessing the damage. A clean burn mark is left in the table, it spells out _are you okay?_. Josie’s eyes run along the burn mark dozens of times before Hope wipes it away with an unintelligible whisper. 

Is she okay? No. Does she know why she’s not? Yes and no. Is being alone with and relying on Hope in a decidedly uneasy situation easy? Yes. Is this the longest period of time the two of them have been together? Yes. Is she handling it well? No. Is her crush from years ago resurfacing? No. Did it ever go away?

Josie puts her head in her hands and takes several deep breaths before she feels Hope’s hand rubbing slow, small circles on her lower back. Josie freezes, barely breathing. Hope’s hand steady and constant. 

Josie suddenly juts up and reaches into her bag. She drops her notebook on the table and rips it open to a clean page. Her pen digs into the paper

 _Stop!_

Hope looks down at the page and removes her hand from Josie’s back, everything about her posture rigid and statuesque. Hope’s fingers tingle from running along Josie’s shirt, she missed the feeling instantly. But the words on the page are clear enough, Hope knows she overstepped. She sets her jaw and her eyes on the board and settles in for what is bound to be a treacherous five hours.


	3. Chapter 3

Josie and Hope follow Becca to her next class. There are actual desks open in this class so they sit several rows away. Neither can see the other without twisting around obviously in their seats. To Hope’s disdain, Eric is in the class as well and Josie is seated right across from him. Meanwhile, Hope finds herself across from a different boy that is all too eager to know her.

“I’m Wes,” he says with an obvious glance down, “Nice shirt.” The cocky grin he wears makes Hope want to burn his dark eyebrows off.

“Hope,” She gives him a tight-lipped smile and looks down at the borrowed sheet of paper from Josie. She had to at least pretend to take notes.

“You’re new so you might not know this but I'm the captain of the football team, so I’m kind of a big deal,” Wes hits her with a blinding smile.

“Captains don’t normally boast like that. Connor would probably have been more subtle since, you know, he’s the captain.” Hope tilts her head in an innocent smile, looking behind her at Josie. Josie happens to be looking her way with a look of disdain and fury but turns immediately back to Eric when she catches Hope’s eye.

“Well I’m co-captain really. When Connor graduates I’m a shoe-in. Plus, he’s not really here today so I’m basically the real captain.”

“What do you mean he’s not here today? I saw him when I walked in.” Hope furrows her brow at his comment. She definitely saw Connor when they got off the bus.

“Sure he’s physically here but did you talk to him at all after first period? Dude’s like a walking zombie. No words. His eyes are dead as shit. Probably hungover or something. If you need a guy to show you around on your first day,” another obvious glance down, “I’m your guy.”

As he finishes, the teacher walks in and begins the class. Hope is racking her brain for memories of Connor this morning when lines start appearing on her paper.

 _What happened?_

Hope looks around to Josie who is turned in her seat looking at her, she nods her head at Hope’s paper, attempting to get her to respond.

 _This neanderthal said Connor is acting weird_

_I guess your type is neanderthal_

Hope scrunches her brow and looks back at Josie who is focused completely on her notebook. Hope notices Josie’s knuckles look slightly white as she grips her pen.

 _What does that mean?_

_Maybe that someone is doing some flirting of their own. First dark-haired, big browed Landon, now that guy. I’m noticing a pattern_

_Wes looks nothing like Landon. Landon is barely my type_

_So the great Hope Mikaelson does have a type. Do tell_

Hope smirks to herself before responding back

 _Dark hair, dark eyes, likes to wear sweaters and ribbons as ties, pouty lips, you know the usual dreamy features_

Across the room Hope can hear someone having a coughing fit, she would bet money it was Josie. Hope laughs to herself at the other girl’s reaction and steals a glance back. Josie has recovered from her coughing fit and was staring at her with renewed vengeance.

 _So your type is me right now. That’s so wild because my type happens to be really short and fit, closed off, martyr-complexed, semi-sociopaths_

_So you think I’m fit_

Hope laughs to herself, not taking Josie’s bate.

 _That was your take away_

_I’d let you take me anywhere_

_Stop it_

_Josette you have to learn to control your blush_

The rest of the class was uneventful. Hope all but forgot about Wes and Connor and Eric. She would occasionally look down at the stream of notes and smile to herself. Fake flirting with Josie was fun but she wonders if they would do this sort of thing at Salvatore. She wonders if this friendship would last when the day was over and they go back to reality. The bell interrupts her thoughts and she collects her things and meets Josie at her desk.

“Let’s find Connor,” Hope says and moves towards the door. A hand on her arm stops her, Hope looks down and sees Josie’s hands glowing red.

“What are you doing?” Hope asks and feels the piece of paper disappear from her hand. “What was that for?”

“Just saving myself from future torture. Come on,” Josie stood, her features closed off, “Let’s go.”

Hope stood in the empty classroom stunned at the sudden shift in Josie’s body language. Why would she think Hope would torture her over the things written on the page? If anything, Josie could hold it over _her_ head. She was almost certain Josie would use it to fan the flames of her animosity with Lizzie. Hope decided right then that she needed to retrieve her copy of their exchange. It was only fair that both girls had evidence.

Hope follows after Josie not wanting to lose her in the crowd but finds herself bumping into her right outside the door. Hope’s arm snakes itself around Josie’s front, gripping her hip, to stop the taller girl from falling. Hope swears she hears Josie take in a sharp breath before turning around, their noses inches away. Hope’s mouth parts to say sorry but words fail to form as she watches Josie’s eyes drop to her lips, lingering there for a second too long, before shooting back up, a blush very obvious on her cheeks.

“Can you please not try to kill me today? I could have been Mufasaed in the middle of the hallway.”

“Dramatic much,” Hope mumbles, taking a step back and dropping her hand from Josie’s hip. The girls survey the hallway for their target, Connor, but comes up short.

“Now what?” Josie asks, frustration tinging her words.

“Go find Eric, get us into another class before the bell rings.”

“Fine. Why don’t you go find Wes. Divide and conquer right?” Josie raises her eyebrow and cocks her head to the side, daring Hope to counter.

“Fine. Don’t get pregnant,” Hope bumps her shoulder against Josie’s and takes off in the direction she last saw Wes.

“I hope you do get pregnant!” Josie shouts through the halls, Hope shakes her head, throws up a middle finger and continues walking. Josie’s flushes at the weird looks the students are sending her way.


End file.
